The Toxics in Packaging Prevention Act generally prohibits a manufacturer or supplier from offering for sale or for promotional purposes in this state a package or packaging component that includes… More

The Toxics in Packaging Prevention Act generally prohibits a manufacturer or supplier from offering for sale or for promotional purposes in this state a package or packaging component that includes intentionally introduced lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium in the package or in a packaging component. The act exempted from this prohibition, until January 1, 2010, a package or a packaging component if the manufacturer or supplier complied with specific documentation requirements and the package or packaging component did not contain any intentionally introduced lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium, but exceeded a specific maximum concentration level because of the addition of a recycled material.
This bill would provide a similar exemption, until January 1, 2019, for a glass beverage, food, or drink container. The bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to evaluate the packaging of glass beverage, food, and drink containers, as specified, to determine if lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium is present in glass beverage, food, or drink containers sold in California. If the department determines that these metals are present, the bill would require the department to also evaluate whether and under what circumstances those metals can leach from the glass containers into the food or beverage and whether the presence of the metals in the glass containers presents a risk to human health and the environment. The bill would authorize the department to request any information and collect any samples necessary for the evaluations from glass manufacturers or feedstock or raw material suppliers in the state that are subject to the act, and would require the department to provide the results of the evaluations to the Legislature by January 1, 2018. The bill would authorize the department to adopt regulations, pursuant to existing authority, based on these evaluations. The bill would authorize the department to seek reimbursement from the glass manufacturers and feedstock and raw material suppliers to cover the reasonable costs directly related to collecting glass samples, reviewing and processing those samples, analyzing the samples, disseminating certain information, and implementing any regulations that are developed as a result of the evaluations.The bill would delete obsolete provisions and would make conforming changes. Hide

(1)Existing law requires all rigid plastic bottles and rigid plastic containers, including bottles and containers composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), sold in California to be labeled with a… More

(1)Existing law requires all rigid plastic bottles and rigid plastic containers, including bottles and containers composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), sold in California to be labeled with a code which indicates the resin used to produce the rigid plastic bottle or rigid plastic container.This bill would require, commencing July 1, 2016, PET plastic packaging manufactured in the state to be manufactured with, and empty PET plastic packaging imported into the state to be filled with food or drink in the state for sale in the state to contain, a minimum of 10% of postfilled PET plastic, as measured by weight. The bill would require, commencing January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, every such manufacturer or importer of PET plastic packaging to demonstrate compliance with that requirement by certifying to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery certain information. The bill would provide that a person who violates these provisions is guilty of an infraction and may be assessed civil penalties. By
creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.(2)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide

Existing law establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to provide financial assistance for projects that promote the use of alternative energies.… More

Existing law establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to provide financial assistance for projects that promote the use of alternative energies. Existing law, until January 1, 2021, authorizes the authority to approve a project for financial assistance in the form of a sales and use tax exclusion. Existing law prohibits the authority from granting sales and use tax exclusions that exceed $100,000,000 for each calendar year.
This bill would expand projects eligible for the sales and use tax exclusion to include projects that process or utilize recycled feedstock, but would not include a project that processes or utilizes recycled feedstock in a manner that constitutes disposal.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 26003 and 26011.8 of the Public Resources Code proposed by AB 1269 that would become operative only if this bill and AB 1269 are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Hide

Existing law provides for the regulation of secondhand dealers, as defined. Existing law makes it unlawful for a person to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer without a license issued by… More

Existing law provides for the regulation of secondhand dealers, as defined. Existing law makes it unlawful for a person to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer without a license issued by the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission. Existing law requires a secondhand dealer or coin dealer, as defined, to report, as specified, to the chief of police or sheriff all secondhand “tangible personal property,” as defined, purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning. Existing law requires the report to include, among other things, the identification of the intended seller or pledger of the property, verified by the person taking the information by reasonably relying on specified documents, and a complete and reasonably accurate description of serialized property, including, but not limited to, the serial number of that property. A violation of these provisions where a person knows or should have known that a violation was being committed is a misdemeanor.
This bill would permit the person verifying the identification of the seller or pledger to use technology to obtain information and verify identity remotely. The bill would authorize specified unique identifying numbers to be used as the serial number reported for handheld electronic devices, as defined, and would require the report to the chief of police or sheriff to be updated within 10 days with these unique identifying numbers if they were not available when the report was submitted.
Because a violation of this requirement under certain circumstances would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide

Existing law, the Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995, requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee an environmental farming program to provide incentives to… More

Existing law, the Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995, requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee an environmental farming program to provide incentives to farmers whose practices promote the well-being of ecosystems, air quality, and wildlife and their habitat.
This bill would require the department, upon an appropriation of moneys therefor, to establish a grant program to fund voluntary projects that increase carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions on working lands, as defined. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the Department of Conservation, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Water Resources, to develop and adopt project solicitation and evaluation guidelines for the program, as specified. Hide

Existing law prohibits an employer from refusing to allow a female employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition to take a leave for a reasonable time of up to 4 months… More

Existing law prohibits an employer from refusing to allow a female employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition to take a leave for a reasonable time of up to 4 months before returning to work. Existing law also prohibits an employer from refusing to maintain and pay for coverage under a group health plan for an employee who takes that leave, as specified.
This bill would prohibit an employer, as defined, from refusing, as specified, to allow an employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period, to take up to 6 weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child within one year of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement. The bill would also prohibit an employer from refusing to maintain and pay for coverage under a group health plan for an employee who takes this leave.
The provisions of the bill would become operative on January 1, 2018. Hide

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program. The act… More

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program. The act requires the department to file an annual report, on or before March 1 of each year, with the Legislature, regarding the administration of the act during the prior calendar year.
This bill would require the department to include in the annual report, on or before March 1, 2015, a status update on the adequacy of funding from the Integrated Waste Management Fund for programs implemented pursuant to the act and pursuant to other specified provisions regulating waste management facilities. The bill would authorize the department to recommend alternative funding mechanisms for the programs, as specified.
Existing law requires each city, county, and joint powers authority formed under the act, referred to as a regional agency, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan. The act requires the source reduction and recycling element to divert from disposal 50% of all solid waste subject to the element through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities, with specified exceptions. Under the act, the use of solid waste for beneficial reuse in the construction and operation of a solid waste landfill, including the use of alternative daily cover, constitutes diversion through recycling and is not considered disposal.
This bill, commencing January 1, 2020, would provide that the use of green material, as defined, as alternative daily cover does not constitute diversion through recycling and would be considered disposal for purposes of the act. The bill, commencing August 1, 2018, would require a local jurisdiction to include information in an annual report on how the local jurisdiction intends to address these diversion requirements and divert green material that is being used as alternative daily cover. The bill would require a jurisdiction that does not meet certain diversion requirements as a result of not being able to claim diversion for the use of green material as alternative daily cover to identify and address, in an annual report, barriers to recycling green material and, if sufficient capacity at facilities that recycle green material is not expected to be operational before a certain date, to include a plan to address those barriers. The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties upon local agencies with regard to the diversion of solid waste.
Existing law requires the operator of a disposal facility to pay a quarterly fee based on the amount of solid waste disposed of at each disposal site.
This bill would provide that, commencing January 1, 2020, green material used as alternative daily cover at a solid waste landfill is not subject to this fee.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide

(1)The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program that… More

(1)The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program that requires each county and city and county to prepare and submit to the department a countywide integrated waste management plan. The act requires a business, which is defined as a commercial or public entity, that generates more than 4 cubic yards of commercial solid waste per week or is a multifamily residential dwelling of 5 units or more, to arrange for recycling services. Existing law also requires jurisdictions to implement a commercial solid waste recycling program meeting specified elements.
This bill would, commencing April 1, 2016, require a business that generates a specified amount of organic waste per week to arrange for recycling services for that organic waste in a specified manner. The bill would decrease the amount of organic waste under which a business would be subject to those requirements from 8 cubic yards or more to 4 cubic yards or more on January 1, 2017. The bill would also require a business that generates 4 cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week, on and after January 1, 2019, to arrange for organic waste recycling services and, if the department makes a specified determination, would decrease that amount to 2 cubic yards, on or after January 1, 2020.
This bill would require the contract or work agreement between a business and a gardening or landscaping service to require the organic waste generated by those services to comply with the requirements of this act.
This bill would require each jurisdiction, on and after January 1, 2016, to implement an organic waste recycling program to divert organic waste from the businesses subject to this act, except as specified with regard to rural jurisdictions, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties on local governmental agencies. The bill would require each jurisdiction to report to the department on its progress in implementing the organic waste recycling program, and the department would be required to review whether a jurisdiction is in compliance with this act.
This bill would authorize a local governmental agency to charge and collect a fee from an organic waste generator to recover the local governmental agency’s costs incurred in complying with this act.
This bill would require the department to identify and recommend actions to address permitting and siting challenges and to encourage the continued viability of the state’s organic waste processing and recycling infrastructure, in partnership with the California Environmental Protection Agency and other specified state and regional agencies. The bill also would require the department to cooperate with local jurisdictions and industry to provide assistance for increasing the feasibility of organic waste recycling and to identify certain state financing mechanisms and state funding incentives and post this information on its Internet Web site.
(2)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide

(1)Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, administered by the State Department of Public Health, regulates the management and handling of medical waste, as defined. Existing law specifically… More

(1)Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, administered by the State Department of Public Health, regulates the management and handling of medical waste, as defined. Existing law specifically excludes home-generated sharps waste, as defined, from the definition of medical waste. Existing law requires all sharps waste to be placed into a sharps container, taped closed, and labeled with the words “sharps waste” or with the international biohazard symbol and the word “BIOHAZARD.” Existing law prohibits a person from knowingly placing home-generated sharps waste in certain types of containers and requires that home-generated sharps waste be transported only in sharps containers, as defined, or other containers approved by the State Department of Public Health or the local enforcement agency. Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, requires the State Department of Public Health to regulate the manufacturing, sale, labeling, and advertising activities related to food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics in conformity with the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. A violation of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law is a misdemeanor.
This bill would require all sharps sold to the general public in California in quantities of 50 or more to include a free sharps waste container that meets applicable state and federal standards for collection and disposal of medical sharps waste. The bill would require the sharps manufacturer to provide the sharps container at no cost. The bill would require the container to, among other things, be labeled with the words “sharps waste” or with the international biohazard symbol and the word “BIOHAZARD” and would also require specified information to be included on a label affixed to the container or on a separate insert included in the sharps packaging. The bill would not preempt a local ordinance that establishes a mandatory system for the collection of home-generated sharps waste for disposal. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of his or her employment. Existing law requires the administrative director to develop a cost-efficient workers’ compensation information system and requires the administrative director to adopt regulations specifying the data elements to be collected by electronic data interchange. Existing law defines “sharps waste” to mean any device having acute rigid corners, edges, or protuberances capable of cutting or piercing, including, but not limited to, hypodermic needs, hypodermic needles with syringes, and syringes contaminated with biohazardous waste.
This bill would encourage the administrative director to review the department’s practices for identifying puncture wounds caused by sharps waste in nonhealth care occupations to determine ways of encouraging more accurate reporting and collection of needlestick injury data.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires retailers of rechargeable batteries to have in place a system for… More

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires retailers of rechargeable batteries to have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of rechargeable batteries.
This bill would require, by January 1, 2015, a producer or a household battery stewardship organization appointed by one or more producers of a household battery to submit to the department a household battery stewardship plan, which would be required to include specified elements. The bill would require the department to review a household battery stewardship plan submitted to the department within 30 days after receipt and to approve or disapprove the plan, as specified.
The bill would prohibit a producer, wholesaler, or retailer, on and after September 1, 2015, from selling a household battery unless the plan for that battery is approved by the department. The bill would require a producer or the household battery stewardship organization to implement the household battery program pursuant to the household battery stewardship plan, including achieving a specified collection rate. The bill would require each producer or household battery stewardship organization implementing a household battery stewardship plan to prepare and submit to the department an annual report describing the activities carried out pursuant to the household battery stewardship plan.
The bill would require a producer or household battery stewardship organization submitting a household battery stewardship plan to pay the department a plan review fee, as determined by the department, when submitting the plan to the department and to pay an administrative fee, as determined by the department, when submitting the annual report. The bill would provide for the imposition of administrative civil penalties upon a wholesaler or retailer selling household batteries in violation of the bill. The bill would create the Household Battery Stewardship Account in the existing Integrated Waste Management Fund and would require that the fees be deposited into that account and that the penalties be deposited into the Household Battery Stewardship Penalty Subaccount that the bill would create in that account. The bill would authorize the fees and penalties to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the department’s program implementation costs and would authorize all funds collected or received by the department under the program, except for the fees, to be expended as incentives to enhance recyclability and redesign efforts and to reduce environmental and safety impacts of batteries.
The bill would also allow a producer or organization that is implementing an approved plan and incurring specified costs to bring a civil action to recover costs, damages, and fees from another producer for failure to comply with the bill’s provisions. Hide

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires every rigid plastic packaging container, as defined, sold or… More

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires every rigid plastic packaging container, as defined, sold or offered for sale in this state to generally meet one of specified criteria.
This bill would require the department, by June 1, 2014, in coordination with the Ocean Protection Council and the State Water Resources Control Board, to adopt regulations to implement the bill. The department would be required, by July 1, 2014, in consultation with the council and the state water board, to adopt a list that specifies those items, or categories of items, that the department finds are the major sources of marine plastic pollution and, therefore, would be a covered item for purposes of the bill, and to revise the list, as specified.
The department would be required to notify the producer of a covered item, and no later than 6 months after receiving that notification, the producer of that covered item would be required to design and submit to the department a plan to reduce the producer’s proportion of the marine plastic pollution caused by that covered item for review and approval by the department. The bill would authorize one or more producers of a covered item to designate a producer responsibility organization to act as its agent to develop and implement the plan. The bill would require the plan to specify the measures to meet the marine plastic pollution reduction targets that the producer of the covered item would be required to achieve, as specified in the regulations, and would require the measures to include utilization of innovative product design, the recovery, collection, or recycling of the covered item, or a combination of those measures. The department would be required to recover the cost of reviewing and approving the marine plastic pollution reduction plan by requiring the producer to pay a fee to the department, which the department would be required to set in an amount equivalent to the department’s costs of implementing the bill. The bill would establish the Marine Plastic Pollution Prevention Subaccount in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, would require the department to deposit the fees into that subaccount, and would authorize the department to expend those fees, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the department’s costs to implement the bill.
The bill would authorize the department to impose a civil penalty administratively on a producer that is in violation of the bill. The bill would establish the Marine Plastic Pollution Penalty Subaccount in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, and would require the collected civil penalties to be deposited in the Marine Plastic Pollution Penalty Subaccount for expenditure by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the department’s costs to enforce the bill.
The bill would authorize a producer, in lieu of submitting a marine plastic pollution reduction plan to the department, to voluntarily elect to pay an annual alternative compliance fee to the department, which the department would be required to set in a specified amount and revise periodically. The department would be required to deposit the alternative compliance fees in the Marine Plastic Pollution Fund, which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The department would be authorized to expend the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, in a specified manner, for innovative product design for the covered item and for recovery, collection, and recycling programs to prevent the marine plastic pollution caused by the covered item. Hide

(1)Existing law establishes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to provide to… More

(1)Existing law establishes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to provide to specified entities, upon appropriation by the Legislature, grants, loans, loan guarantees, revolving loans, or other appropriate measures, for the development and deployment of innovative technologies that would transform California’s fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state’s climate change goals. Existing law specifies that only certain projects or programs are eligible for funding, including block grants administered by public entities or not-for-profit technology entities for multiple projects, education and program promotion within California, and development of alternative and renewable fuel and vehicle technology centers. Existing law requires the commission to develop and adopt an investment plan to determine priorities and opportunities for the program. Existing law also creates the Air Quality Improvement Program, administered by the State Air Resources Board, to fund air quality improvement projects related to fuel and vehicle technologies.
This bill would provide that the state board has no authority to enforce any element of its existing clean fuels outlet regulation or other regulation that requires or has the effect of requiring any supplier, as defined, to construct, operate, or provide funding for the construction or operation of any publicly available hydrogen-fueling station. The bill would require the state board to aggregate and make available to the public, no later than June 30, 2014, and every year thereafter, the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles that motor vehicle manufacturers project to be sold or leased over the next 3 years, as reported to the state board, and the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles through April 30. The bill would require the commission to allocate $20 million annually, as specified, until there are at least 100 publicly available hydrogen-fueling stations in California. The bill, on or before December 31, 2015, and annually thereafter, would require the commission and the state board to jointly review and report on the progress toward establishing a hydrogen-fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to design grants, loan incentive programs, revolving loan programs, and other forms of financial assistance, as specified, for purposes of assisting in the implementation of these provisions. The bill would repeal the above provisions on January 1, 2024. The bill, no later than July 1, 2014, would require the state board, in consultation with air pollution control and air quality management districts, to convene working groups to evaluate the specified policies and goals of specified programs. The bill would add intelligent transportation systems as a category of projects eligible for funding under the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. The bill would require the commission and the state board, in making awards under both the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program, to provide a preference to projects with higher benefit-cost scores, as defined.
(2)Existing law creates the enhanced fleet modernization program to provide compensation for the retirement of passenger vehicles, and light-duty and medium-duty trucks that are high polluters. Existing law provides that under this program compensation for retired vehicles for a low-income motor vehicle owner, as defined, is $1,500, and for all other motor vehicle owners, it is $1,000. Existing law authorizes this compensation to be increased by the department based on various factors, including the emissions benefits of the vehicle’s retirement.
This bill would establish compensation for replacement vehicles for low-income vehicle owners at not less than $2,500, would make this compensation available to an owner in addition to the compensation for a retired vehicle, and would prohibit compensation for all other motor vehicle owners from exceeding the compensation for low-income motor vehicle owners. The bill would instead authorize an increase in the compensation under these programs for either retired or replacement vehicles only for low-income motor vehicle owners as necessary to balance maximizing air quality benefits of the program while ensuring participation by low-income motor vehicle owners, as specified.
(3)Existing law, until January 1, 2016, increases vehicle registration fees, vessel registration fees, and specified service fees for identification plates by a specified amount. Existing law requires the revenue generated by the increase in those fees to be deposited in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund and either the Air Quality Improvement Fund or the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount, as provided.
Existing law, until January 1, 2016, imposes on certain vehicles a smog abatement fee of $20, and requires a specified amount of this fee to be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund and in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund.
This bill would extend those fees in the amounts required to make these deposits into the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund, the Air Quality Improvement Fund, and the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount until January 1, 2024, at which time the fees would be reduced by those amounts.
(4)Existing law establishes the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program, which is administered by the state board, to provide grants to offset the incremental cost of eligible projects that reduce emissions of air pollutants from sources in the state and for funding a fueling infrastructure demonstration program and technology development efforts. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2015, limits the Carl Moyer program to funding projects that reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx).
This bill would extend the current authorization for the Carl Moyer program to fund a broader range of projects that reduce emissions until January 1, 2024, and would make other conforming changes in that regard. The bill also would delete obsolete references and make conforming changes to the Carl Moyer program.
(5)Existing law authorizes the district board of the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District to adopt a surcharge on motor vehicle registration fees applicable to all motor vehicles registered in the counties within that district. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the amount of that surcharge from $4 to $6 for a motor vehicle whose registration expires on or after December 31, 1990, and requires that $2 of the surcharge be used to implement the Carl Moyer program, as specified. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the surcharge limit to its previous amount of $4.
This bill would extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until January 1, 2024, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date.
(6)Existing law authorizes each air district that has been designated a state nonattainment area by the state board for any motor vehicle air pollutant, except the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, to levy a surcharge on the registration fees for every motor vehicle registered in that air district, as specified by the governing body of the air district. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to collect that surcharge if requested by an air district, and requires the department, after deducting its administrative costs, to distribute the revenues to the air districts. Existing law, until January 1, 2015, raises the limit on the amount of that surcharge from $4 to $6 and requires that $2 of the surcharge be used to implement the Carl Moyer program, as specified. Beginning January 1, 2015, existing law returns the surcharge limit to its previous amount of $4.
This bill would extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until January 1, 2024, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date.
(7)Existing law imposes, until January 1, 2015, a California tire fee of $1.75 per tire on every person who purchases a new tire, with the revenues generated to be allocated for prescribed purposes related to disposal and use of used tires. Existing law requires that $0.75 per tire on which the fee is imposed be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund with these moneys to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for use by the state board and air districts for specified purposes. Existing law reduces the tire fee to $0.75 per tire on and after January 1, 2015.
This bill would instead set the tire fee at $1.75 per tire until January 1, 2024, and reduce the tire fee to $0.75 per tire on and after January 1, 2024.
(8)Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from fees and taxes imposed by the state on vehicles to specified purposes, subject to certain exceptions.
This bill would require the commission and the state board to ensure that revenues from specified fees imposed on vehicles that are used for purposes of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program are expended in compliance with Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution.
(9)This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Hide

(1)The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits an agent or independent contractor from making an expenditure of $500 or more, other than overhead or normal operating expenses, on behalf of or for the… More

(1)The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits an agent or independent contractor from making an expenditure of $500 or more, other than overhead or normal operating expenses, on behalf of or for the benefit of any candidate or committee unless it is reported by the candidate or committee as if the expenditure were made directly by the candidate or committee. The act requires an agent or independent contractor to make known to the candidate or committee all information subject to this reporting requirement.
This bill, in addition, would require a subagent or subcontractor who provides goods or services to or for the benefit of a candidate or committee to make known to the agent or independent contractor all of the information subject to the reporting requirement described above, and would require that disclosure of this information by a subagent or subcontractor to the agent or independent contractor or by the agent or independent contractor to the candidate or committee occur no later than three working days prior to the time the campaign statement reporting the expenditure is required to be filed, except that an expenditure that is required to be reported as a late contribution or late independent expenditure must be reported to the candidate or committee within 24 hours of the time that it is made.
(2)The act defines as “surplus campaign funds” campaign funds that are under the control of a former candidate or former elected officer as of the date of leaving elective office or the end of the postelection reporting period following the defeat of the candidate for elective office, whichever occurs last. The act restricts the purposes for which surplus campaign funds may be expended.
This bill would increase the time at which campaign funds become surplus campaign funds by 90 days following either the officer leaving elective office or the end of the postelection reporting period following the defeat of a candidate, whichever occurs last.
(3)The act requires the Franchise Tax Board to conduct audits and field investigations of various financial statements required to be submitted by lobbying firms, lobbyist employers, candidates, and specified committees.
The act prohibits the commencement of an audit or investigation of a candidate, controlled committee, or committee primarily supporting or opposing a candidate or a measure in connection with a report or statement required by specified provisions of the act until after the last date for filing the first report or statement following the general, runoff, or special election for the office for which the candidate ran, or following the election at which the measure was adopted or defeated, except as provided. The act prescribes the scope of campaign statements and reports to be included in audits and investigations of candidates, controlled committees, or committees primarily supporting or opposing a candidate or a measure.
This bill would delete these provisions that delay the commencement of an audit or investigation and prescribe the scope of audits and investigations.
In addition to the general auditing requirements imposed on the Franchise Tax Board as described above, the act authorizes the Franchise Tax Board and the Fair Political Practices Commission to make investigations and audits with respect to any reports or statements required by specified provisions of the act regarding campaign disclosure, limitations on contributions, and lobbyists.
This bill would expand this authority to allow the Franchise Tax Board and the Fair Political Practices Commission to make investigations and audits with respect to any reports or statements required under the act.
The act requires the Franchise Tax Board periodically to prepare reports regarding its audit and investigations under the act and send them to the Commission, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General. The act requires the board to complete its report of any audit conducted on a random basis pursuant to a specified statute within one year after the person or entity subject to the audit is selected by the Commission to be audited.
This bill would extend the deadline for the Franchise Tax Board to complete its report of an audit conducted on a random basis from one to two years after the person or entity to be audited is selected by the Fair Political Practices Commission.
The act prohibits a member, employee, or agent of the Franchise Tax Board from divulging or making known in any manner any particulars of any record, documents, or information which he or she receives by virtue of conducting audits and investigations, except as provided.
This bill, in addition, would make this prohibition applicable to a member, employee, or agent of the Fair Political Practices Commission.
This bill would authorize the Fair Political Practices Commission, and the Franchise Tax Board at the direction of the Commission, to audit any record required to be maintained under the act in order to ensure compliance with the act prior to an election, even if the record is a report or statement that has not yet been filed. The bill would authorize the Commission to seek injunctive relief in a superior court to compel disclosure consistent with the act, and would require a court to grant expedited review of an action filed pursuant to this provision, as specified.
(4)Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties.
This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(5)The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
(6)This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The bill would delay the operative date of its provisions until July 1, 2014. Hide

The Pharmacy Law provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists and pharmacy establishments by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law required the Department of Resources… More

The Pharmacy Law provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists and pharmacy establishments by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law required the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, pursuant to provisions repealed on January 1, 2013, to develop, in consultation with appropriate state, local, and federal agencies, model programs for the collection and proper disposal of drug waste. The Medical Waste Management Act, administered by the State Department of Public Health, regulates the management and handling of medical waste, including pharmaceutical waste, as defined.This bill would, upon the enactment of federal regulations, require the California State Board of Pharmacy, in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery and the State Department of Public Health, to adopt regulations to implement California drug takeback programs for the collection and destruction of home-generated pharmaceutical waste, as defined. The bill would provide that the regulations adopted pursuant to these provisions only apply to licensees of the board. Hide

(1)The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires materials that require special handling, as defined, to be removed from major appliances and vehicles in which they are contained… More

(1)The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires materials that require special handling, as defined, to be removed from major appliances and vehicles in which they are contained before crushing for transport or transferring to a baler or shredder for recycling.
The hazardous waste control laws prohibit a person who is not a certified appliance recycler from removing materials that require special handling from major appliances and imposes specified requirements regarding transporting, delivering, or selling discarded major appliances to a scrap recycling facility. The Department of Toxic Substances Control is authorized to grant a variance from the requirements of the hazardous waste control laws, under specified conditions and if the department makes one of specified findings. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime.
This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2018, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, and affected local air quality management districts, to adopt regulations establishing alternative management standards for metal shredding facilities for hazardous waste management activities within the jurisdiction of the Department of Toxic Substances Control, that would apply in lieu of the hazardous waste management standards if the department performs specified actions. The bill would include among those department actions preparing a preliminary analysis and a final analysis evaluating the hazardous waste management activities to which the alternative management standards would apply. The bill would require the department to provide notice that it proposes to adopt alternative management standards. The bill would prohibit the department from adopting alternative management standards that are less stringent than applicable standards under federal law.
The bill would require the disposal of treated metal shredder waste to be regulated pursuant to the hazardous waste control laws, unless the department adopts those alternative management standards, and would authorize treated metal shredder waste to be used at a specified type of disposal unit as alternative daily cover or for beneficial reuse or placed in that specified type of disposal unit, if the alternative management standards result in the treated metal shredder waste being classified as nonhazardous waste. The bill would require the department to complete the analysis of the hazardous waste management activities and the subsequent regulatory action before January 1, 2018, and would make all hazardous waste classifications and policies, procedures, or guidance issued by the department before January 1, 2014, relating to metal shredder waste or treated metal shredder waste inoperative on January 1, 2018, if the department has completed that analysis and either rescinds the conditional nonhazardous waste classification of that waste or adopts alternative management standards pursuant to this bill. Because a violation of these requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would authorize the department to collect an annual fee from metal shredding facilities and would require the department to establish and adopt regulations necessary to administer the fee and to establish a fee schedule at a rate sufficient to cover the costs of the department to implement these provisions. The bill would establish a separate subaccount in the Hazardous Waste Control Account, and would require that the fees be deposited into the subaccount, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would exempt a metal shredder facility which pays this annual fee from certain hazardous waste control law fees as those fees pertain to metal shredding activities and the generation, handling, management, transportation, and disposal of metal shredder waste.
(2)Existing law provides that, in general, regulations shall be adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. Existing law requires emergency regulations be approved by the Office of Administrative Law and prohibits an emergency regulation from being in effect more than 180 days unless certain procedures are followed.
The bill would authorize a regulation adopted pursuant to the above-described fee provisions to be adopted as an emergency regulation, as specified. The bill would require that such an emergency regulation be filed with, but not be repealed by, the Office of Administrative Law, and would require that the regulation remain in effect for 2 years or until revised by the department, whichever occurs sooner.
(3)Existing law, on or before February 15, 1988, required specified regional water quality control boards to prepare a list of specified types of landfills that are authorized to accept and dispose of shredder waste.
This bill would repeal this provision.
(4)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide

Existing law requires a retailer of various specified products, such as rechargeable batteries and cellular telephones, sold in the state to have in place a system for the acceptance and collection… More

Existing law requires a retailer of various specified products, such as rechargeable batteries and cellular telephones, sold in the state to have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of those products for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal.
This bill would establish the Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act. The bill would authorize a qualified industry association, as defined, to establish a mattress recycling organization, as defined. The bill would authorize the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to certify that a mattress recycling organization has been established. The bill would require the mattress recycling organization to develop, implement, and administer a mattress recycling program pursuant to the act. The bill would require manufacturers, retailers, and renovators of mattresses to register with the mattress recycling organization on or before January 1, 2015.
This bill would prohibit, on and after January 1, 2016, a manufacturer, renovator, or retailer from, among other things, selling in, or importing a mattress into, this state under circumstances of noncompliance with the bill’s requirements. The act would require the retailer, by July 1, 2014, to give a consumer the option to have a used mattress picked up, at no additional cost, at the time a new mattress is delivered or be provided with an opportunity for free dropoff of the used mattress.
This bill would require the mattress recycling organization, by July 1, 2015, to develop a state plan for recycling used mattresses in the state that includes specified goals and elements and to submit the plan to the department, as specified. The plan would be required to include, among other things, the provision of a mechanism to local governments and certain solid waste facilities for the recovery of illegally disposed mattresses that is funded, as specified. The plan would also be required to ensure that it addresses the impact of the requirement of the California Constitution that a local government submit the imposition, extension, or increase in a general or special tax, as defined, to the electorate for approval by a majority or 23vote, respectively, with regard to local governments participating in the program. The bill would require the organization, by July 1, 2015, to annually prepare and approve a proposed used mattress recycling program plan budget for the next calendar year and to submit the budget to the department for approval, as specified. The bill would require the department to notify the organization of the department’s costs that are directly related to implementing and enforcing the act and the organization would be required to reimburse the department for those direct costs. The bill would require the department to deposit these amounts submitted by the organization into the Used Mattress Recycling Fund, which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The bill would require the department to expend the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer and enforce the act and to reimburse any outstanding loans made from other funds used to finance the startup costs of the department, as provided.
This bill would require the organization to annually set the amount of a state mattress recycling charge that would be added to the purchase price of a mattress, and would require a manufacturer, renovator, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, or other party that sells a mattress to add the charge to the purchase price for the mattress and remit the charge collected to the organization. The bill would exempt mattresses manufactured by the Prison Industry Authority and purchased by the state from collecting and remitting the mattress recycling charge.
This bill would authorize the department to impose an administrative civil penalty on a manufacturer, organization, recycler, renovator, or retailer in violation of the act. The bill would require the department to deposit these penalties into the Mattress Recovery and Recycling Penalty Account, which the bill would create in the Used Mattress Recycling Fund. The department would be authorized to expend the moneys in that account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement the act.
The bill would authorize the department to adopt emergency regulations in a specified manner with regard to establishing a process for the submission of the used mattress recovery and recycling plan to the department, and the approval of that plan, and for the submission of the proposed used mattress recycling program budget to the department, and the approval of the budget by the department.
The bill would constitute a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. Hide

(1)Existing law, until 2020, requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags… More

(1)Existing law, until 2020, requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store.
This bill, as of July 1, 2015, would prohibit stores that have a specified amount of sales in dollars or retail floor space from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer, with specified exceptions. The bill would also prohibit those stores from selling or distributing a recycled paper bag at the point of sale unless the store makes that bag available for purchase for not less than $0.10. The bill would also allow those stores, on or after July 1, 2015, to distribute compostable bags at the point of sale only in jurisdictions that meet specified requirements and at a cost of not less than $0.10. The bill would require these stores to meet other specified requirements on and after July 1, 2015, regarding providing reusable grocery bags to customers, including distributing those bags only at a cost of not less than $0.10. The bill would require all moneys collected pursuant to these provisions to be retained by the store and be used only for specified purposes.
The bill, on and after July 1, 2016, would additionally impose these prohibitions and requirements on convenience food stores, foodmarts, and entities engaged in the sale of a limited line of goods, or goods intended to be consumed off premises, and that hold a specified license with regard to alcoholic beverages.
The bill would allow a retail establishment to voluntarily comply with these requirements, if the retail establishment provides the department with irrevocable written notice. The bill would require the department to post on its Internet Web site, organized by county, the name and physical location of each retail establishment that has elected to comply with these requirements.
The bill would require the operator of a store that has a specified amount of sales in dollars or retail floor space and a retail establishment that voluntarily complies with the requirements of this bill to comply with the existing at-store recycling program requirements.
The bill would require, on and after July 1, 2015, a reusable grocery bag sold by certain stores to a customer at the point of sale to be made by a certified reusable grocery bag producer and to meet specified requirements with regard to the bag’s durability, material, labeling, heavy metal content, and, with regard to reusable grocery bags made from plastic film on and after January 1, 2016, recycled material content. The bill would impose these requirements as of July 1, 2016, on the stores that are otherwise subject to the bill’s requirements.
The bill would prohibit a producer of reusable grocery bags made from plastic film from selling or distributing those bags on and after July 1, 2015, unless the producer is certified by a 3rd-party certification entity, as specified. The bill would require a reusable grocery bag producer to provide proof of certification to the department. The bill would require the department to provide a system to receive proofs of certification online.
The department would be required to publish on its Internet Web site a list of reusable grocery bag producers that have submitted the required certification and their reusable grocery bags. The bill would require the department to establish an administrative certification fee schedule, which would require a reusable grocery bag producer providing proof to the department of certification or recertification to pay a fee. The bill would require that all moneys submitted to the department pursuant to these fee provisions be deposited into the Reusable Grocery Bag Fund, which would be established by the bill, and continuously appropriated for purposes of implementing these proof of certification and Internet Web site provisions, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would also require a reusable grocery bag producer to submit applicable certified test results to the department. The bill would authorize a person to object to a certification of a reusable grocery bag producer by filing an action for review of that certification in the superior court of a county that has jurisdiction over the reusable grocery bag producer. The bill would require the court to determine if the reusable grocery bag producer is in compliance with the provisions of the bill and, based on the court’s determination, would require the court to direct the department to either remove or retain the reusable grocery bag producer on its published Internet Web site list.
The bill would allow a city, county, or city and county, or the state to impose civil penalties on a person or entity that knows or reasonably should have known it is in violation of the bill’s requirements. The bill would require these civil penalties to be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought the action, and would allow the penalties collected by the Attorney General to be expended by the Attorney General, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the bill’s provisions.
The bill would declare that it occupies the whole field of the regulation of reusable grocery bags, single-use carryout bags, and recycled paper bags provided by a store and would prohibit a local public agency from enforcing or implementing an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule, or any amendment thereto, adopted on or after September 1, 2014, relating to those bags, against a store, except as provided.
(2)The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 creates the Recycling Market Development Revolving Loan Subaccount in the Integrated Waste Management Account and continuously appropriates the funds deposited in the subaccount to the department for making loans for the purposes of the Recycling Market Development Revolving Loan Program. Existing law makes the provisions regarding the loan program, the creation of the subaccount, and expenditures from the subaccount inoperative on July 1, 2021, and repeals them as of January 1, 2022.
This bill would appropriate $2,000,000 from the Recycling Market Development Revolving Loan Subaccount in the Integrated Waste Management Account to the department for the purposes of providing loans for the creation and retention of jobs and economic activity in California for the manufacture and recycling of plastic reusable grocery bags that use recycled content. The bill would require a recipient of a loan to agree, as a condition of receiving the loan, to take specified actions.
(3)The bill would require the department, no later than March 1, 2018, to provide a status report to the Legislature on the implementation of the bill’s provisions. Hide

Existing law, until January 1, 2020, requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic… More

Existing law, until January 1, 2020, requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store.
With specified exceptions, this bill, as of January 1, 2015, would prohibit stores that have a specified amount of dollar sales or retail floor space from providing a single-use carryout bag to a customer. The bill, on and after July 1, 2016, would additionally impose this prohibition on convenience food stores, foodmarts, and certain other specified stores. The bill would require all of these stores to meet other specified requirements regarding providing recycled paper bags, compostable bags, or reusable grocery bags to customers.The bill would require a reusable grocery bag that a store is required to sell on and after July 1, 2016, to meet specified requirements. A violation of that requirement and the requirements that would be imposed upon grocery bag producers to submit certain laboratory test results would be subject to an administrative civil penalty assessed by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The department would be required to deposit these penalties into the Reusable Bag Account, which would be created in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, for expenditure by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement those requirements. The bill would allow a city, county, or city and county, or the state to impose civil penalties for a violation of the bill’s requirements. The bill would require these civil penalties to be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought the action, and would allow the penalties collected by the Attorney General to be expended by the Attorney General, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the bill’s provisions. The bill would provide that these remedies are not exclusive, as specified.The bill would declare that it occupies the whole field of the regulation of reusable grocery bags, single-use carryout bags, and recycled paper bags and would prohibit a local public agency, on and after January 1, 2014, from enforcing or implementing an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule adopted on or after September 1, 2013, relating to those bags, unless expressly authorized. The bill would allow a local public agency that has adopted such an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule prior to September 1, 2013, to continue to enforce and implement that ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule, but would require any amendments to that ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule to be subject to state preemption. Hide

Existing law regulates the placement of unattended collection boxes and requires specified information, including the name, address, and telephone number of the collection box owner and operator, to… More

Existing law regulates the placement of unattended collection boxes and requires specified information, including the name, address, and telephone number of the collection box owner and operator, to be displayed on the front of each collection box. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to declare a collection box that is in violation of these provisions a public nuisance and to abate the nuisance.
This bill would authorize a city or county that has adopted a local ordinance regulating or permitting the placement of unattended collection boxes, as specified, to impose a charge on the owner or operator of a collection box that is in violation of the ordinance for the reasonable costs of its removal and storage if the county or city removes the collection box under the local ordinance. The bill would require the city or county to send a written notice of removal and charge to the address displayed on the collection box 5 days prior to removal. The bill would authorize the city or county to sell or dispose of the collection box and its contents if the collection box owner or operator does not pay the charge. Hide

Existing law, commencing January 1, 2014, prohibits a person from discharging from nonvehicular sources air contaminants or other materials that cause injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance to the… More

Existing law, commencing January 1, 2014, prohibits a person from discharging from nonvehicular sources air contaminants or other materials that cause injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance to the public, or that endanger the comfort, repose, health, or safety of the public, or that cause injury or damage to business or property, as specified. Under existing law, a person who violates this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor, as specified, or is liable for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000, unless that person alleges by affirmative defense and establishes that the act was not the result of intentional or negligent conduct, in which case that person is liable for a civil penalty of not more than $1,000. A person who violates this provision and who acts negligently, knowingly, willfully and intentionally, or with reckless disregard, is liable for a civil penalty in a greater amount, as specified.
This bill would make a person who violates this provision liable for a civil penalty of not more than $100,000, as specified, if the violation results from a discharge from a stationary source required by federal law to be included in an operating permit program established pursuant to Title V of the federal Clean Air Act, the discharge results in a severe disruption to the community, the discharge contains or includes one or more toxic air contaminants, as specified, and 100 or more people are exposed to the discharge. The bill would prohibit this provision from applying if the violation is caused by unforeseen and unforeseeable criminal acts, acts of war, acts of terrorism, or civil unrest. The bill would require moneys collected pursuant to this provision to be expended in support of air quality programs. The bill would require that the recovery of a civil penalty under these provisions precludes prosecution of a misdemeanor for the same offense. Hide

The existing California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 allows each county, city, or district to determine aspects of solid waste handling that are of local concern and the means by which the… More

The existing California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 allows each county, city, or district to determine aspects of solid waste handling that are of local concern and the means by which the services are to be provided.
This bill would prohibit an ordinance enacted by a city or county, including an ordinance enacted by initiative by the voters of a city or county, from otherwise restricting or limiting the importation of solid waste into a privately owned solid waste facility in that city or county based on place of origin. The bill would provide that this prohibition does not require a privately owned or operated solid waste facility to accept certain waste, does not allow a privately owned solid waste facility to abrogate certain agreements, does not prohibit a city, county, or a regional agency from requiring a privately owned solid waste facility to guarantee permitted capacity to a host jurisdiction, and does not otherwise limit or affect the land use authority of a city or county. Hide

Existing law requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store.… More

Existing law requires an operator of a store, as defined, to establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store. This requirement is repealed on January 1, 2013. Existing law prohibits a city, county, or other local public agency from taking specified regulatory actions with regard to the recycling of plastic carryout bags.
This bill would require plastic bag use to be reduced by an unspecified percent by an unspecified year. The bill also would establish a mandatory level of recycled content in plastic bags according to a specified schedule. The bill would require the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to establish a working group of stakeholders to develop strategies for increasing the recycling of plastic bags and develop suggestions for funding increased consumer awareness. Hide

(1)The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined,… More

(1)The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.This bill would, until January 1, 2014, exempt from those CEQA requirements a project that consists of the alteration of a vacant retail structure that existed prior to January 1, 2008, is not more than 120,000 square feet in area, and meets specified requirements. (2)CEQA also requires the lead agency to call at least one scoping meeting for a project of statewide, regional, or areawide significance. CEQA requires the lead agency to provide to specified entities, including a city or county that borders the city or county within which the project is located, a responsible agency, a public agency with jurisdiction by law with respect to the project, and a transportation planning agency or public agency required to be consulted, a notice of at least one scoping meeting.
This bill would additionally require the lead agency to provide a notice to other entities that have filed a written request for the notice.
(3)By imposing various additional duties on a lead agency with regard to the implementation of CEQA requirements, this bill would increase the service provided by a local agency, thereby creating a state-mandated local program.(4)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide